Stoops not talking about Kansas job

Posted: Thursday, November 15, 2001

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - Former Ohio State football coach John Cooper says he would be interested in the vacant coaching job at Kansas but has not been contacted by the school, where he was an assistant coach for five years.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma associate head coach Mike Stoops declined to comment on whether he was contacted by Kansas, or whether he would be interested in replacing Terry Allen.

Stoops said he was thinking only about the No. 3-ranked Sooners' game at Texas Tech this weekend.

"I'm doing my thing here, getting ready to play this game," Stoops said. "That's the most important thing right now for me. I'll just let everything else take care of itself."

Stoops would only admit he would like to be a head coach some day.

"It's always been a goal of mine," said Stoops, the younger brother of Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops and a former Kansas State assistant under Bill Snyder.

Cooper, a Kansas assistant under Pepper Rodgers and Don Fambrough in 1967-72, compiled a 111-43-4 record with the Buckeyes over a 14-year span. He was let go earlier this year after struggling to records of 3-8 in bowl games and 2-10-1 against Big Ten rival Michigan.

"Yeah, I want to get back into it if it's the right opportunity for me," Cooper said. "I'm interested at this point in time. I've been talking and listening to people to try and find out what's going on, but I have not officially been contacted by Kansas or anybody else."

Indirectly, there's been some interest from some people scouting around."

While Cooper was at Kansas, the Jayhawks went 28-36. He also was part of the 1968 staff that went 9-2 and went to the Orange Bowl with such players as John Riggins, Bobby Douglass and John Mosier.

Other coaches reportedly interested in the Jayhawks' vacancy include Michigan State defensive coordinator Bill Miller and former Oklahoma State head coach Pat Jones. Fresno State coach Pat Hill, whom Bohl hired for his former school in 1997, has said he's talked with Bohl about the Kansas job. Former Georgia coach Jim Donnan and former Arizona coach Dick Tomey have declined to comment.